


The Prince Who Said No

by loopyhoopyfrood



Category: Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Like tooth rottingly sweet, august prompt, the dulcinea effect
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-13
Updated: 2017-08-13
Packaged: 2018-12-14 20:14:44
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,000
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11790633
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/loopyhoopyfrood/pseuds/loopyhoopyfrood
Summary: Once upon a time, there was a beautiful princess...





	The Prince Who Said No

**Author's Note:**

> My submission for the August prompt. I know I haven't finished my July prompt yet (shhh), but I couldn't resist. This is my absolute most favourite thing I've written for this fandom, and I really hope you all enjoy it!

“Once upon a time, there was a beautiful princess. The princess had dark hair, and sparkling eyes, and she lived in a huge castle in a beautiful country, where she had everything she ever wanted. She had a brilliant chef who cooked her delicious meals, a whole room full of pretty dresses, and a gleaming carriage that would take her anywhere she wanted to go. She spent her days travelling across the land, visiting far off places and meeting lots of interesting people, and at night she would return to her castle and throw huge parties, where she would laugh and dance all night long.

“The princess would invite everyone she knew, and she threw such good parties that people would travel from miles and miles around just to be there. All of her friends would come to her parties, and so would lots and lots of handsome princes. The princess was beautiful, but she was not married, and each of the princes thought that they would be the one who would be able to capture her heart and become her husband.

“The princes all wanted to impress the princess, and would do anything the princess asked them to. They would bring her expensive presents, or take her to wonderful places, or teach her how to do things that she wasn’t supposed to do. They even went and fought battles to impress her, or did ridiculous things that made them look very, very silly.”

“Did they slay dragons for her?” A tiny voice piped up, and Phryne smiled down at the small, blanket-wrapped bundle seated in her lap.

“No.” She said, brushing Audrey’s curls back behind her ear. “The princess was strong-” Phryne squeezed the three-year old’s arm gently and was rewarded with a giggle, “-clever-” Audrey received a soft tap to the forehead, “-and brave-” Phryne placed her palm against Audrey’s small chest, feeling her tiny heartbeat underneath her fingertips, “-and so the princess was perfectly capable of slaying her own dragons.”

Audrey giggled again, but her laughter soon turned into a yawn. Phryne smiled as the mass of blankets shifted, Audrey shimmying down to rest her head on Phryne’s shoulder.

“Uh oh, looks like someone needs to go to bed.”

“No!” Audrey immediately struggled back up, turning to face Phryne with wide eyes and a trembling bottom lip. “I wanna hear ‘bout the princess.”

“Well, in that case-” Phryne smiled as she pretended to relent. Even at three, Audrey had mastered the art of manipulating her parents into giving her exactly what she wanted. Even Phryne, stubborn as she was, had the occasional trouble resisting.

“Where were we up to?”

“The princes!”

“Ah, the princes. Of course.”

Phryne took a moment to gather her thoughts again as Audrey snuggled back against her shoulder. Once she was still, waiting patiently for the rest of the tale, Phryne leant back in the chair and happily resumed the role of storyteller.

“As time passed, hundreds of princes came to visit the princess in her castle. Some of the princes were very handsome, some of them had lots and lots of money, and some of them could do impressive things, like fly , or act, or write poetry. All of the princes did anything the princess asked them to. Sometimes, she would thank them with a kiss, or let them stay with her for a little while, but every time one of them asked her to marry them, the princess said no.”

“She didn’t want to marry _any_ of them?”

“No.”

“Why not?” Audrey’s face was scrunched up in confusion.

“Because,” said Phryne, “although all of the princes were handsome, or had lots of money, or could do impressive things, the princess didn’t love any of them. The princes did everything she asked them to, but none of them managed to capture her heart.”

“Was the princess sad?”

“Not at all! The princess had lots of friends, and lots of places to explore, and lots of parties to go to. She didn’t need to marry a prince to be happy.”

“Did she not want to fall in love?”

“The princess loved lots of people. She loved her friends, and she loved her family. She didn’t need to love a prince.

“But then, one day, the princess met a prince whom she’d never met before.”

“Was this prince special?”

“He was very special.”

Audrey had wriggled to sit upright again, staring at Phryne, completely engrossed in the story. Her tiny fingers clutched at the blankets as she waited impatiently to hear what came next.

“The prince didn’t seem very special at first. He wasn’t the most handsome prince, and he didn’t have very much money, and he couldn’t do lots of impressive things. But the princess had never seen him before, and she was curious, and so she went to talk to him. The princess asked the prince to dance with her. The prince looked at her, and then he did something no prince had ever done before.”

“What?”

Phryne smiled as she leant closer, Audrey’s anticipation evident in her wide eyes and open mouth.

“He said no.”

“No?”

“No.”

Audrey, caught up in the story, was outraged.

“Why did he say no!?”

“Because this prince was clever, and stubborn, and he didn’t think he should do what the princess asked just because she was beautiful. He didn’t know the princess, and he didn’t see why he should try to impress her.”

“Did he not want to marry her?”

“The prince wanted to marry someone he loved. He didn’t know the princess, so he couldn’t love her.”

“What did the princess do?”

“At first she was very angry. No one had ever said no to her before. But the princess was also curious. She wanted to know who the prince was, and why he had said no.

“The princess held another party, and she made sure that she sent an invitation to the prince who had said no. When the day came, the princess wore her best dress, and waited for the prince to arrive. Lots of other princes came, princes who were handsome, or had lots of money, or who could do interesting things, but the prince who had said no didn’t come to her party. When the party ended, the princess realised that the prince had done it again. She had asked him to come to her party, and he had said no.

“The princess wanted to know why the prince had said no, but although she continued to invite him to her parties, the prince never came. Eventually, the princess decided she would go and find the prince, and ask him why he kept saying no. She got into her gleaming carriage and went to visit the prince in the town where he lived. The prince was not in his castle, and so the princess walked around the town searching for the prince.

“The princess walked all around the town, but she couldn’t see the prince anywhere. The princess was about to give up, when she heard shouts coming from a nearby street. The princess ran towards the shouting, and when she got there she saw the prince, fighting with two other men! The princess couldn’t stand by and watch, and so she ran forward and helped the prince fight off the two men. Together, they scared off the men, who had been trying to steal some money from an old lady, and they helped the lady get back home.

“At first the prince was angry. The princess had helped him, but she had put herself in danger. The two men could have hurt her. But the prince realised that the princess had helped him, and he admired her for wanting to help him. The prince thanked the princess, and offered to show her around the town. As they walked he told the princess how much he cared for his people, and how he spent lots of time protecting the people who lived in his town from bad people who wanted to steal things, or break things, or hurt other people.”

“Like Uncle Jack!”

Phryne laughed, ruffling Audrey’s curls.

“A little.” She teased with a knowing smile, before continuing her story. “The princess found that she admired the prince for wanting to protect his people, and she wasn’t angry at him anymore, even though he had said no to her. The princess spent the day talking with the prince, and helping the people in his town, until it was time for her to go home. The princess realised that she had greatly enjoyed her day, and she wanted to ask the prince if she could come and visit him again, but the princess was worried that the prince would say no. And so the princess said goodbye, but the next day she got into her gleaming carriage and she travelled to his town to find him again.

“The prince was surprised to see the princess, and at first he was angry. The prince had lots of responsibilities, and lots of things he had to do, and he didn’t want the princess to get in the way. But the princess refused to leave, and instead she helped the prince with all the things he needed to do. She walked with the prince through the town, and they talked about lots of different things, and she helped him to look after all the people who lived there.

“The princess continued to visit the prince, and she learnt that the prince was clever, and funny, and that he cared deeply about all the people who lived in his town. The prince came to enjoy her visits, and he learnt that the princess was clever, and brave, and that she loved to travel; to see new places and to meet new people. The prince learnt that the princess was kind, and cared about people, and that she was even more beautiful inside than she was on the outside. But every time the princess asked him to come to her party, and to dance with her, the prince said no.”

“Why did he say no? Did he not want to dance with her?”

“The prince wanted to dance with her very, very much. But the prince had come to treasure her visits; he enjoyed spending time with her and he thought she was very brave in helping him protect his town. But the prince knew that the princess had danced with lots of princes, and he thought that if he said yes, and danced with her, then she would no longer want to spend time with him. He thought that if he said yes, then the princess would have what she wanted, and she would have no reason to keep visiting him. And so every time the princess asked him to dance, the prince said no.

“Then, one day, the princess had to go on a long journey, to a land far, far away. She was very excited, but she also knew that she would miss the prince very, very much. The princess would be gone for a very long time, and she wouldn’t be able to see the prince or talk to him while she was gone. The princess thought about how much she would miss the prince, and she realised that she had fallen in love with him!”

“He captured her heart!”

“No.” Phryne looked down at Audrey’s excited grin, and leant in close, as if she were sharing a secret. “The princess _gave_ him her heart.”

“The princess was excited to travel to the far away land,” Phryne continued, “but she didn’t want to leave the prince. So, the princess asked the prince to come with her. But the prince said no.”

“The prince is silly.” Audrey said firmly. “He should have gone with the princess.”

“The prince wanted to go very, very much. You see, the prince had fallen in love with the princess, and he knew that he would miss the princess while she was gone. But the prince had things he needed to do in his own town. He had lots of people to look after and keep safe, and if he left there would be no one to deal with the bad people who wanted to steal things, and break things, and hurt other people. So the prince had to say no.

“Secretly, the prince wanted to ask the princess to stay, and not go far, far away. But the prince knew that the princess loved to travel, and that she enjoyed seeing new places and meeting new people, and so the prince didn’t ask her to stay, even though he wanted to. The prince loved the princess, and he wanted her to be happy, and he knew that the exciting things waiting for her in the far away land would make her happy. But the prince didn’t want the princess to forget about him, and so before she went away the prince gave her a present; a beautiful songbird that would sing songs about how much he loved her, and how he eagerly waited for her to come home.

“The princess went away, and she had many, many adventures in far off lands, and met many new people who showed her exciting new things. She went to many parties, and met many princes. Some of them were handsome, some of them had lots of money, and some of them could do lots of impressive things, but the princess didn’t want to dance with any of them. She danced by herself, and she thought about the prince who waited for her back home.

“The princess had lots of fun, and eventually it was time for her to return home. She thought about the prince all the way back, and when she arrived at her castle she arranged a huge party to celebrate her return. The princess invited all of her friends, and she put on her prettiest dress, and she waited for the prince to arrive.”

“Did he say yes this time?”

“He did! He wore his best clothes, and brushed his hair, and brought her some beautiful flowers. The princess poured him a drink, and he asked her all about her journey and the things she had done while she was far, far away. She told him all about all the places she had been, and all the people she had met, and about how much she had missed him whilst she was away. Many other princes asked the princess to dance that night, but you know what she did?”

“What?”

“She said no.”

Audrey gasped, and Phryne smiled as she continued.

“The princess didn’t want to dance with anyone except the prince that she loved. But she didn’t ask him to dance, because every time she’d asked him to dance, he’d said no. Instead she talked to the prince, and they laughed, and they watched all their friends dance, and the princess had a wonderful time. And at the end of the night, the prince did something no prince had ever done before. 

"The prince asked _her_ to dance.”

“And the princess said yes!”

“She did! And the prince and the princess danced all night, carrying on long after all their friends had left. And when the prince had to leave and go back to his own town, the princess kissed the prince, and he left knowing that the princess loved him.”

“Did they have a happy ending?”

“They did. The princess still travelled all over the land, seeing new places and meeting new people, but she always knew that her prince would be waiting for her when she came home. The princess never wanted to dance with anyone else, and she danced with her prince every night.”

“Did they have a big wedding?”

“They didn’t have any wedding.”

“They didn’t get married?”

“No.”

“But why not?”

“Because they didn’t need to.” A familiar voice spoke up from across the room, and both storyteller and audience turned to see Jack, leaning against the doorway with a soft smile on his face. He crossed the room to join them, placing a gentle kiss to Phryne’s forehead before settling into an adjacent armchair. Phryne was surprised to feel herself blushing, unsure just how much of her story he’d overheard.

“The prince knew that the princess loved him, and that she only wanted to dance with him. He also knew that she loved to travel, and to see new places and meet new people, and he knew that if they were married it would be harder for her to do those things. The prince loved the princess exactly as she was, and he didn’t want to stop her travelling. The prince didn’t need to marry the princess, because he knew that she would always come home to him.”

Jack’s hand had found hers as he spoke, and Phryne found herself blinking away the moisture that had gathered in her eyes. Nothing he said was new, but somehow, hearing it phrased so simply, Phryne was struck with an overwhelming gratefulness; for Jack, for their relationship, and for how he loved her so much that he let her be free.

She squeezed his hand, trying to convey everything she felt into that one, small gesture. The tightening of his fingers in hers was all it took for her to know he understood. Smiling, she looked down at the child in her lap. Audrey’s eyes were closed, her tiny fingers holding the blankets to her chin as she snored softly. Slowly, Phryne stood, rocking her bundle gently as she crossed the room to place Audrey gently in her cot. For a moment, she watched Dot’s child sleep, rearranging the blankets as quite footsteps padded across the room to join her.

Together, the prince and the princess left the room, quietly closing the door behind them. The princess took the prince by the hand and, without needing to speak, she asked him to dance.


End file.
